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How to Say ‘I'll go ahead and put some coffee on.’ in German

Ich setz schon mal Kaffee auf.

ikh zets shohn mahl ka-FAY owf

[ikh zets shohn mahl ka-FAY owf]

🇩🇪 In Germany: Afternoon coffee is a fixture of German family visits, often with cake. Offering to start it is a natural way to pitch in.

Phrase Breakdown

Ich setz schon mal

ikh zets shohn mahl

I'll go ahead and put on

'Schon mal' means 'in the meantime / already'. 'Setz' is a casual form of 'setze'. Say it as one flowing unit.

Example

Ich deck schon mal den Tisch.

I'll go ahead and set the table.

Words in this phrase

Ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

setz

[zets]

put on (to brew)

Colloquial short form of 'setze'; with 'auf' (aufsetzen) it means to put coffee or water on to brew or boil.

Example

Ich setz Wasser für Tee auf.

I'll put water on for tea.

schon

[shohn]

already / in the meantime

Here, with 'mal', it means doing something ahead of time, getting started already.

Example

Ich geh schon mal vor.

I'll go on ahead.

mal

[mahl]

just / for now

A softening particle; together with 'schon' it means 'in the meantime, in advance'.

Example

Ich deck schon mal den Tisch.

I'll just set the table in the meantime.

Kaffee auf.

ka-FAY owf

coffee (on).

'Kaffee aufsetzen' means 'to put coffee on'. 'Auf' is the separable prefix at the end. Stress KA-fe or ka-FEE.

Example

Ich setz Wasser auf.

I'll put water on.

Words in this phrase

Kaffee

[ka-FAY]

coffee

Often used as shorthand for an informal coffee meeting.

Example

Lass uns auf einen Kaffee treffen.

Let's meet for a coffee.

auf

[owf]

(separable prefix of aufsetzen)

Separable verb part that goes to the end of the sentence; aufsetzen = to put on to brew/boil.

Example

Kannst du den Topf aufsetzen? Ja, ich setz ihn auf.

Can you put the pot on? Yes, I'll put it on.

Guides for German learners

Duolingo vs Pimsleur: Tapping on a Screen or Talking Out Loud?Duolingo vs Pimsleur: five minutes of tapping versus thirty minutes of speaking. What each is good at, what each costs, and which to pick for your goal.

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